(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-620L-3a, S.B & J.A. Paige WI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$384 MS65BN 10-14-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Merchant token from S.B & J.A. Paige of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, cataloged as Fuld 620L-3a. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. With 4 known varieties, S.B & J.A. Paige produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 620L-3a) is common. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

Rarity Notes

Copper strikings are generally the most common metal variant for Civil War store cards, as copper was the standard planchet material mimicking the federal cent. With 4 cataloged varieties, S.B & J.A. Paige was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 620L-3a